Jealousy is Bliss
by anirishtwilight
Summary: Edward has met Bella and realized her effect on him. However, this does not make Rosalie happy and she finds herself unbearably jealous regardless of the fact that she just never felt that way about Edward. Fights with Edward and escapist strategies ensue
1. An Unwelcome Arrival

**January**

Chapter One

Rosalie gripped the wheel of her candy red M3 like a vise, pushing it past the brink of 110mph. She tried to take deep breaths and calm herself before she bent the wheel like a twist tie—not only would that be hard to explain to her family, she would rather not harm her darling car in any way because of some stupid, insignificant child. She gritted her teeth as the image of the girl flashed through her head again.

Today had been a truly eventful day at the usually extremely boring Forks High. Although the arrival of a new student should not have been anything more than mildly interesting, it ended up shooting through the ceiling on the scale of significance when Edward was affected by her to the point of needing to escape town. I mean, honestly…did he have no measure of taste after all these years? She wasn't even that pretty.

She tilted her head tensely, her lips pressed into a tight line as she whipped around the curves of Washington State. Even tied in knots, a look of fierce frustration and anger on her face, she was still breathtakingly gorgeous. She knew she was being ridiculous. She wasn't even completely sure where all this jealousy and hostility was coming from; she was completely and honestly in love with Emmett, so it wasn't that she wanted Edward's attention for herself…she and Edward barely got along most of the time anyway so it wasn't like she was heartbroken that he wouldn't shower love on her or something ridiculous like that. She felt a grimace wrinkle her face just at the thought.

The only think she could figure is that it was territorial. It was the last nail in the coffin—no pun intended--to confirm that Edward really wasn't infatuated with her the way he really should be. Even Carlisle was sure that she would be perfect for him, and he was just never completely attached. They had given it a very sincere and passionate try for quite a few years. It certainly passed the time…but neither of them was overly emotionally invested in the match. As soon as she found Emmett on the mountain, it was like any other feeling she had ever felt for any other man was completely wiped from her memory…but she always just assumed that she had left Edward feeling empty. Apparently not.

She decided she had given into her childish temper tantrum long enough and pulled her convertible around in a graceful, but mind-blowingly fast u-turn. As she began the crawl back to the Cullen mansion at the outer edges of Forks, she let her mind travel back to all those years before when she and Edward were Carlisle's only "children".

At first she was like a wounded animal. It took a while to come to terms with the recent events of her past sufficiently enough to make any new emotional bonds with her adoptive family. Her heart, although halted and frozen, was torn apart for a while after the transformation. She was thankful when the memories from her human life began to dull a bit into the background, being overshadowed by the new, overwhelming hunger and the wide expanse of time she had ahead of her. Plenty of time to forget.

When she began to come out of her shell, Edward was there. She was mildly aware of Carlisle's wishes that a relationship would form. He wanted for her and Edward what he and his wife Esme had. He had transformed Edward many years before herself and loved him very much—enough to want to see the end of his loneliness.

It started with endless nights of conversation. They didn't really have much in common, but they found enough to talk about. She figured he was probably fascinated with the endless well of vanity and superficiality she seemed to possess on the outside. He also knew on the inside, she ran much deeper than the façade she kept constantly in place on the outside.

Eventually the platonic conversational relationship progressed further. One night they were in his room, as usual, talking about everything and nothing. They were both on the floor on a thick, black plush rug he had accented his room with. He was leaning back against his overstuffed leather couch, and she had her head in his lap, her long legs crossed at the ankles. On impulse, she took matters into her own hands.

_He had been talking about some book he had read recently. As usual she had lost interest as soon as he started regaling her with details that the author had included and what he felt they meant, symbolically. She was distracted, conflicted about whether or not she really wanted to do what she was considering doing. She had been considering an impulse to take their relationship to the next level for weeks now, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to open herself up that way. She had been translating _Vogue Magazine_ in French to avoid having him realize her indecision. She was sure he had picked up on the tension even without reading her thoughts._

_Sick of her own fickle thoughts, she finally decided to just act spontaneously. She was straddling his lap in a flash, before he even realized she had made the decision. He looked up at her with amber eyes, widened with surprise and curiosity._

"_Rose?" he questioned in his soft, velvet voice._

"_Shut up, Edward."_

_With that her mouth was on his, her lips parting and moving against his hotly. Her hands were gripping his perfectly muscled shoulders, running through his hair, clutching at the strands wantonly. She didn't want to think anymore. She just wanted to feel._

_She was pressing herself against him, moving against him in ways she had never done with anyone before. She and Royce had never gotten this far—at least not consensually, but strangely, she didn't feel unsure or inexperienced at all. As he ran his hands up her sides, cupping her breasts, running his thumbs over her already aroused nipples, she let out a low moan, encouraging him._

_She needed her hands on him. She didn't really care about being patient, slow, or careful. She ripped his shirt in her haste and brought her lips down to his collarbone, sucking on the marble skin she found there. Now it was the growl tearing from his throat driving her crazy. She scraped her fingernails down his back and wrapped her legs around his waist tightly. He sat upright, pulling her shirt over her head and went to work ravaging her neck with his lips. Her head rolled to the side in bliss._

_His hands ran up her back and deftly freed her from her lacy black bra. He threw it across the room and looked up at her with an indulgent smirk on his face. He looked absolutely gorgeous. He took her breath away. Then he took her nipple in his mouth and wiped every coherent thought from her brain. Pure fire licked across her skin as she gripped his shoulders even harder and bucked against him._

"_Edward," she gasped huskily, "I need you now."_

_He met her eyes, now a deep shade of ochre, and growled gloriously. He flipped her over on her back in an instant, ripping the casual brown trousers she was wearing off without a thought. He took a moment to consider the black panties she was wearing, which matched the bra he had previously discarded. He grinned mischievously and changed his plan of attack. First, he kissed her mouth in a slow, painfully passionate kiss that had her bones melting and a whimper slipping out of her lips. Then he was trailing soft, torturous kisses down her neck, across her chest, her torso…until he reached the waistband of her panties again. He took them in his teeth, meeting her eyes once again with that same glint in his eyes—this time with an added shade of pure lust, and ripped them off._

_She let out a cry of surprise and desire. Grabbing his shoulders, she tried to pull him back up to her, wanting him inside of her immediately. It seemed he had pushed himself to the limit as well because he granted her wish without a fight. He took a moment to rip his own trousers off and then poised himself above her, his eyes capturing hers intensely._

_She couldn't breathe or think. All she wanted was him. She wanted that moment of bliss and this anticipation to reach its conclusion in that one glorious movement. She met his gaze, locking her hands around his neck to bring him closer. She crashed her lips against his in an impossibly passionate kiss. He entered her, sliding all the way home in one stroke. She gasped, not in pain, but in absolute pleasure. She threw her head back, basking in the feel of him. His mouth was everywhere. Her hands gripped his back again, trying to keep a hold on her sanity—which she already knew was a completely impossible endeavor. When his teeth bit down lightly on her neck, it was enough to send her over the edge. She exploded in pleasure, her eyes flying open as she pulsed around him. He growled again and doubled his speed as he thrust into her. He found his own release, burying his face in her hair as he shook with bliss. _

_He lowered himself back to the floor, wrapping his arms around her and turning them both so she lay on top of him. His breathing slowed, a look of utter contentedness on his face. She scattered kisses along his jaw and then rested her head beneath his chin, feeling smug._

It continued like that for years after. They savored each other and found enjoyment and comfort in their torrid affair. Until that fateful day that she found Emmett. The love she felt for this man that she had never even spoken to crashed into her unexpectedly. She had no choice but to just ride it out and enjoy the fact that she had finally found someone to fill the emptiness in her heart. Edward had helped, to a degree, to patch the wound; she had a connection with him that was different from any other that she had found with another person…but there was still something missing. Something had never quite ignited.

That in mind, nothing that had ever passed between them had been enough to send him out of the state, and a part of her resented that. She was probably about as gorgeous as you could possibly get and it took this stupid teenager to send him to a furious edge of sanity? The memories of their intimacy had just darkened her mood even further. Why did she do that to herself?

Virulent thoughts continued to play through her mind until she pulled into the driveway of their home. She noted that Edward's car was still absent; or she should say Carlisle's car which Edward had taken. She wondered if he would ever come back. It shouldn't matter, she reminded herself. She had Emmett. She would get over this.

She gracefully stepped out of the convertible and slammed the door behind her. She strode up the path to the front door, slamming that behind her as well once inside. Her family was in the large family room and watched her enter. She barely gave them a passing glance before storming up the stairs and into the bedroom she and Emmett shared…of course slamming their door as well. There was something so rewarding about making a lot of noise when she was angry. Temper tantrums really were underrated.

She took the regal seat in front of the huge fireplace that dominated one of the entire walls of the bedroom. She was brooding, but she didn't care. She needed to indulge herself.

She certainly had some choice words for Edward Anthony Masen Cullen when he finally decided to grace them with his presence again.


	2. Confrontations and Escapes

**January  
**Chapter Two

Rosalie was sitting in the family room when her dear brother returned home. She didn't see him enter the house, but knew he had arrived by the flurry of chaos that ensued as Alice streaked down the stairs screeching about how much she missed him. The rest of the family followed soon after, greeting him with varied looks of concern and relief. Rosalie hung back, rising from the stylish chair she had been lounging in very slowly and sauntering across the room with a dangerously placid look on her face. She met his eyes over Emmett's monstrous shoulder and raised an eyebrow. He met her eyes with a familiar questioning look.

_Oh I have words for you, Edward Cullen, s_he said to him in her thoughts.

A frown creased his forehead, surely unaware of what she had in store for him. With that she darted gracefully up the stairs, throwing a look over her shoulder signaling Edward to follow her. She decided his room would be the best place to take care of this. Somehow it just felt wrong to fight this out in hers and Emmett's sanctuary. It would somehow taint it. As she walked through the door to Edward's bedroom, she looked around considering where she would wait for him to meet her. Considering the available seating options, she realized each of them had some kind of previous sexual history attached to them that she really did _not _need to be thinking about right now. With a frown she strode over to the large window and stared out at the beautiful landscape that surrounded their home, one arm wrapped around her waist and her other hand worrying her perfect bottom lip.

It was a few moments before Edward joined her. She was sure he had waited until it didn't seem conspicuous that he was running right up the stairs after her. It wasn't as if they were best buddies most of the time, so an immediate private reunion would be a little out of the ordinary, to say the least. Her temper tantrum following his departure was suspicious enough. She heard him drop a bag on the floor near the door and then his footsteps approaching her. He leaned against the wall next to where she stood, looking like a perfect Greek statue.

"What is it, Rosalie?" he asked, his tone slightly impatient.

She whirled around to face him, the absent, placid look on her face replaced with a mask of icy fury. "What the hell were you thinking, Edward? What on earth possessed you to just pick up and leave like that without any indication of when you would come back, if ever?" She was aware of the fact that her fists were clenched again, thankfully this time not around the steering wheel of her car.

He looked surprised, "Is that honestly what this is about, Rose? I wasn't aware that you would have cared so much. I was under the impression you had pretty much everything you needed right here—Emmett…mirrors…"

She fumed, "How _dare_ you. I can't believe you didn't take anyone else's thoughts or feelings into consideration before you just whipped out of town in a melodramatic cloud of angst and self loathing. And for what? A stupid, insignificant child. And now you stand here and insult me and doubt my care for your well being?"

His eyes flashed with anger now, replacing that look of glib amusement. "Rosalie, could you please refrain from being so incredibly self involved for a moment and realize that the reason I left had everything to do with my consideration for this family? I was going to _kill_ that stupid insignificant child, as you've so charmingly referred to her as. Do you understand what that would have meant for us? Or are you really so shallow that you can't make that connection?"

She actually growled this time, infuriated by the fact that he was questioning her intelligence now, "I just don't understand why this girl could do this to you. Why _she_ could have such a strong effect on you that you actually have to run away. I've never seen you react like that to anything in your entire life." She tried to keep the heavy meaning out of her words, but she knew it was no use as he could just read her thoughts anyway.

Realization dawned on his features and he rolled his eyes, "Get over it, already, Rose. You're only the center of your own universe. You're certainly not the center of mine. Not anymore." With that he strode back out of his room, slamming the door behind him. She stared at the polished wood for a few moments after he had left, partially shocked that he had acknowledged having feelings for her, and partially hurt by his biting words.

Snapping out of it finally, she exited the room herself, giving the door a resounding slam of her own.

* * *

Still furious, Rose paced down the hall into her room and slammed the door so hard it threatened to snap off its hinges. It took a minute for her to adjust and realize that Emmett was sitting on their overstuffed leather couch, gazing at her curiously. He was used to her moods and tantrums, but this was a particularly fiery one. She regarded him warily, hoping that he didn't interpret Edward's last words too seriously.

"You and Eddie having issues, Babe?" he asked, his eyebrows raised in a look of part concern, part confusion.

She frowned and sat down next to him, shaking her head, "No. Not anything significant anyway."

Emmett wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against his body, squeezing her tight in a one-armed bear hug. He took his other hand and placed it under her chin, tipping her face up to meet his gaze, "You okay, love?"

She considered the question. Was she okay? She shouldn't have been affected by his harsh words. On the other hand, she shouldn't have been affected by anything in this entire situation—everything that passed between she and Edward was ancient history and should have no bearing on her life now. Yet, why was there this nagging jealousy around the edge of her brain? It annoyed her.

"Yes, darling, I'm fine. Just annoyed with him. He's acting like a child."

Emmett grinned wolfishly and smoothed a hand over her hair, "Well, he IS the younger brother after all."

She loved that smile. It lit up his face and truly embodied the nature of everything that was _Emmett_. She was overcome with the need to just be close to him. She just needed to feel the things that were right to her. She reached up and ran her fingers through his dark curls, smiling into his eyes with an obvious mix of lust, love and need. His own eyes darkened in the way they always did when he needed her too.

"You know, you don't really need to think about him anymore him tonight…" he said, lowering his head to scatter kisses along her collarbone.

"I was hoping you would say that," she said, and with that she pulled his face up to hers and began ravishing his mouth with hers. He knew that he would match her passion easily and willingly. She ran her nails across his shoulders, down his muscled back and clutched at his waist wantonly. He pulled her shirt up over her head and went to work on the sensitive skin just above the edge of her bra. She let her head fall back and moaned in pleasure.

_He trailed his lips down her chest, down her abdomen and then dragged his tongue back up to her neck to nibble the delicate skin he found there until she was whimpering. She felt him grin against her as she wrapped her legs around his waist and clutched at his back. A low growl rumbled in his chest…_

Her eyes snapped open, horrified that the memory had flashed through her head at that particular moment. It was so wrong that Edward had somehow infiltrated this perfect moment she was having with Emmett. This time that was specifically meant for forgetting her past with_him_.

Emmett must have felt her stiffen and he lifted his head to look at her quizzically, "Rose?"

She smiled reassuringly, hoping the look was convincing, "Everything's fine darling. I just need you so much."

He accepted that easily, as she hoped he would, grinning again. He went back to work—ironically nibbling on her neck. She smirked dryly.

She reached down and lifted up the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head swiftly. She needed the skin to skin contact, hoping it would erase every other thought from her brain. As he bit down on her earlobe lightly, she arched against him, rewarding him with another husky sound of approval. He lifted his head and his eyes burned into her with more serious fervor than most people probably thought Emmett was even capable of. He wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and one lightly around the back of her head, and in a fraction of a second, they were on the plush rug in front of their fireplace, he poised above her, his hands everywhere all at once.

_Her hands clutched the thick carpet, threatening to pull out the soft cords of expensive yarn. A shock of bronze, tousled hair was all she could see of the man at work between her legs. She writhed against him, trying not to scream his name. His hands raked up the sides of her body to her breasts, burning into her despite their iciness._

She turned her head into her carpet frowning, infuriated with herself that she had let her mind wander again. She was even more livid with herself that the memory matched with Emmett's hands on her was almost too much for her body to handle. She was vibrating with need and grasping at his hair, his neck, his back, trying to pull him closer to her than he already was. She let out a frustrated growl and ripped—not removed, ripped—his pants off in one quick movement. The similarity of the action to another past action didn't escape her, and she groaned again, feeling tortured.

Emmett was obviously affected by her wild need. Her behavior exceeded even some of their most raucous recent tumbles. He was breathing heavily, an intense, gorgeous look of concentration on his features. His beauty was different from Edwards, but still took her breath away. His strong jaw, her favorite dark curls, the broad cheekbones, the perfect, long, sculpted nose.

Not being able to resist her anymore, he parted her legs and thrust into her as slowly as his self control could manage. She let out another moan of ecstasy, matching his growl of pleasure.

_He slid into her at an achingly slow pace, teasing her mercilessly. She arched her back, "Oh god, Edward…please." She heard him chuckle, cursing the smug bastard, but not feeling very angry at all. She'd made a monster._

She moved against Emmett even more fervently now, wanting to think of only him, even if having both of them with her for this was making her hotter than she had ever been. She rose to meet his every thrust until she could feel herself reach her peak, screaming and clenching around him. He came soon after, not able to withstand the intense desire that was practically seeping out of her every pore.

She fell back on the rug, deliciously spent, but feeling disturbed and guilty. Where had that come from? Why had, all the sudden, she not been able to get her brother out of her head. She would have to find a way. When Emmett's hand slid up her stomach, she turned her head to kiss him, "I love you, so much."

He smiled contentedly back at her, looking like a little boy who had just been given a treat, "I love you too, Rosalie Lillian Hale Cullen."

She stood up and strode over to her closet to retrieve clothing that wasn't torn at the seams. She had things to do today and she needed to clear her head after that rather confusing episode of flashbacks. She threw one last smile over her shoulder at Emmett, and then exited the room.

As she closed the door and turned around she was rather unpleasantly surprised to find Edward leaning against the wall next to the doorway. As her eyes met his gaze, he lifted an eyebrow. She gritted her teeth, more angry now than ever that he could see everything that had just happened playing through her mind.

"Well, that's interesting."


	3. Testing the Past

**January**

Chapter 3

"Well, that's interesting." Edward said, his eyebrow cocked in an expression of humor mixed with smug acknowledgment of what he had just witnessed in her thoughts.

Rosalie's eyes darkened. She hated not only when he pried into her thoughts without her permission, but, for obvious reasons, she was furious that he had chosen this moment in particular to see these thoughts in her memory. She still wasn't even sure why she had them in the first place. Why was he having this effect on her?

She took a step closer to him and shoved a perfectly manicured finger sharply into his chest. A foreboding growl was building deep in her chest--a surprisingly ferocious sound for someone so gorgeous. "If you utter one word of this to anyone else in this family, I swear to God, Edward, you won't have to worry about that little twit at school ever again because you won't be in any state to be in school, understood?" His face didn't change, except for an almost undetectable widening of his eyes. She leaned in closer to his face aggressively for a split second to punctuate her warning and then turned on her heel, sprinting gracefully down the stairs.

She grit her teeth all the way down to the first level of the house and stopped just long enough to grab her keys and her purse before she burst out of the door in a fury. She needed to get away from here. She needed to think. This was going to drive her absolutely insane until she figured out why her brain and her body were betraying her the way they were. Why did it seem that she couldn't get anything to cooperate the way she wanted it to? Edward, herself…at least Emmett was as steady as always. She could always count on him for that.

As that thought ran through her head, her brow creased, a new ripple of guilt shooting through her chest. She was absolutely sure of her love for him, there was no question of that. But that in mind, why should these shadows from her past with Edward even matter at all? She didn't even think that the relationship meant that much to her when it was happening, why should it mean anything now? The questions continued to swirl through her head, unanswered and irritating.

She clicked the button on the remote to her M3, just needing to get away. Sliding into the seat, she turned over the car, not really having any solid plan on where she was going to go. She was out of the driveway and halfway down the road before she even realized she wasn't alone in the car. She jumped about 6 inches out of her seat when she heard a familiar velvet voice murmur, "Rose, what is this about?"

She didn't even bother looking at him. She didn't want to acknowledge him. She just kept driving, once again pushing her car as fast as she could to its brink. This was not what she had in mind for soul searching, and he was really the last person she wanted to have in any near proximity to her. She once again felt a growl building in her chest, but bit it back, wanting to keep the controlled and unaffected façade in place. Edward reached over and pushed a lock of her perfectly curled hair behind her ear. Another unwanted memory flashed through her mind at the gesture.

_They were flying down the interstate, the wind blowing through both of their hair, the flashy vintage vehicle pleasing them both with the satisfaction they found in cars. She had dark stylish sunglasses over her eyes, a designer scarf wrapped fashionably around her hair to keep it off of her face. The sunlight glinted off of her skin in subtle diamond patterns. She looked like an ethereal, otherworldly picture out of a magazine. He was turned toward her in his seat, gazing at her with the intense look that was her personal favorite. It suited her vain nature perfectly; the epitome of his admiration of her beauty. She knew that there was more to it than just physical attraction, but she didn't let herself think of that element most of the time. She still wasn't healed._

He reached over, lifting his hand from its resting place on the soft leather seat to brush it across her cheek, down her neck, trailing down her arm to ease it off of the steering wheel so he could hold it in his. He kissed it gently before he brought it back down to the seat, rubbing slow circles on the palm, causing her to sigh softly.  
  
She shook her head, a terse growl of frustration ripping from her throat, upset that it had happened again. This needed to stop. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him stiffen, feel the tension run through his body and through the air between them from her seat. She flicked her eyes over at him briefly, finally acknowledging his presence in the vehicle, but made absolutely sure that the expression she wore was positively withering.

"Rose, can we please talk about this?" He spoke so softly, anyone other than a vampire wouldn't have heard him.

She found herself gritting her teeth again with frustration. "What is there to say, Edward? I don't really know what to tell you. I don't know why this is happening any more than you do."

He frowned, the expression causing a perfect fissure in his beautiful features. He was obviously as uncomfortable with the situation as she was. All of the amusement from earlier was completely gone. "Rose, I didn't even realize that what we had mattered to you in the first place. When you found Emmett it was like nothing had even happened in the first place.

She didn't respond to that. She couldn't. She had been so sure of herself before, so completely cemented in her emotions and feelings, and now her world was turned upside down. When she finally did respond her voice was barely a whisper. "That is how it was, but now I just don't know."

Her lip trembled and she could feel her face beginning to crumple, and she panicked, not wanting to fall apart--especially not in front of Edward right now. She bit her lip, lowering her chin and keeping an eye on the road through her lashes.

However, Edward wasn't stupid, and was more attuned to her than she preferred he ever would be. He brushed a hand quickly over her hair and then put a hand on the wheel, sliding her over to the passenger seat before she could even think about it. She stared out the window, relieved she could avoid his gaze now without crashing the car.

She felt the car stop and looked up to find that Edward had pulled the car up to an overlook point, most likely to let her catch her breath. She wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not--she really had no desire to confront this right now.

He reached over and cupped her chin with his hand, turning her face to his. She met his gaze levelly, now too distressed to be angry at him. The anger was still there, but the anguish had won the emotional war for the moment. His eyes burned into hers, the emotion in them a replica of the most recent flashback she had encountered. She had a moment to wonder if that was on purpose before his lips crashed into hers.

She was in shock. Her body stiffened, as hard and still as a statue carved from marble…but after a moment she melted against him, a soft moan escaping her lips. She needed to know. A million thoughts, feelings and emotions were coursing through her right now. Guilt, desire, confusion, need, curiosity, frustration…all she wanted was to sort out the truth in all of the mess. She tangled her fingers in his hair as he wound his hand around her neck, deepening the kiss.

She could feel the urgency in his own lips as they burned against hers--too hot and too cold all at once. His tongue traced her lower lip, reveling in the smooth skin he found there, nibbling on the fullness. It had always been his favorite part of kissing her. Her taste was exactly the way he remembered it, like chocolate but with a hint of something hot; an undertone of spices. Decadent and fiery just like she was.

Abruptly, she pulled away, her eyes widened, taking fast, deep breaths she really didn't need. "I can't do this, Edward. We can't do this." She felt more guilty than she had ever felt in her entire life. Images of Emmett's smiling face were flashing through her head. The look of utter devotion that painted his face every time he laid eyes on her after not seeing her for any length of time, the way he murmured how much he loved her any chance he got. She felt herself beginning to hyperventilate.

Edward's brow creased with genuine concern and he cupped her face in his hands, "Rose, sweetheart, breathe. It's okay. It didn't mean anything. Think. Think about what you just felt."

He was stroking her face gently, his cool fingers pressing lightly over her brow bones, her cheekbones, down her temples, trying to soothe away the hysteria that was gripping her. She tried to breathe and heed his advice. She considered the kiss, dissecting each thought process carefully. First there was shock…the most natural response she could possibly have. It had been years since she had kissed Edward and he had caught her completely off guard. Then there was memory--nostalgia even. She remembered everything that used to be between them. Their first kiss, all the times that followed, the affection that she had for him…

Then her eyes widened as realization dawned. She met his eyes, and his mouth pulled up in a crooked smile. She didn't love Edward. She had never loved Edward. Not the way she loved Emmett at least…she was right all along. Her jealousy, however, had lit a fire underneath whatever mild emotions she had previously had before, causing it to feel like it was something more than it was. He nodded slowly, following her thought process along with her.

She leaned back against the seat, letting out a deep sigh of relief. "Thank god."

He chuckled beside her, "Gee, thanks."

She swatted at him, not even bothering to turn her head, "Be quiet. Don't even tell me you'd want to deal with the headache of a lurid affair with your brother living in the same house. It would be a bit difficult, don't you think?" Her mouth twisted into a sardonic smile.

She didn't notice how his features darkened.

When they returned to the house, she opened the door to find Alice standing in the hallway, her hands folded across her chest, and an absolutely terrifying look on her face. For a pint sized vampire, she could be incredibly intimidating at times. Rose eyed her warily.

"Alice," Rosalie said cautiously.

"Rosalie," Alice said curtly, flitting forward quickly, grabbing her arm in a vise grip, glaring at Edward with a death stare before dragging her up the stairs to her room.

When they reached the room and Alice had slammed the door shut behind them, she whirled on Rosalie, a livid look painted on her face. "What the hell are you thinking, Rosalie? What is all this about? First you get in a fight with Edward out of absolutely no where, storming around the house like a child…then you are with Emmett having raucous sex, clearly letting out some kind of emotion, then you are driving off into the sunset with Edward doing things that I don't even want to think about right now because I might explode." She was pacing around the room.

Rose lowered herself down onto the couch that she had just made love to her husband on earlier that night and dropped her head into her hands.

Alice continued on with an onslaught of angry venting. "Do you know how disturbing it is, when I'm just minding my own business, and all the sudden I'm bombarded with images of you and Edward caught up in some passionate kiss in your car like teenagers after prom? God, Rosalie. And didn't you even stop to think of what this would do to Emmett?"

She was pacing a track in the carpet unconsciously. Rosalie followed her with her eyes and could feel the anger building in her chest again with Alice's words. "Clearly you weren't minding your own business, Alice, if you saw what happened in the first place," she said through clenched teeth, her voice absolutely dripping with angry venom.

"And if you don't mind, could you please keep your voice down?" she hissed, considering Emmett's feelings and not even wanting to think about how she would begin to explain this mess to him. She jumped up herself and walked over to the window, on the edge of stomping she was so angry.

"You know, I'm a little bit sick of people being inside my head all the time. Between you and Edward I feel like I can't do anything without someone jumping on me in one way or another. Obviously he jumps on me in a different way than you do, but just the same, it's an equally unpleasant outcome." She gritted her teeth against the anger, the guilt, the anguish as they mélange of emotions threatened to drown her. She turned to look at Alice. She was surprised to see that her sister looked shocked and ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Rose, I didn't mean to pry--it was just _there_ all the sudden and I was so shocked I didn't know what to think. I didn't even know you two had a relationship before the rest of us came along." Alice stepped closer and placed a hand on Rosalie's arm in a comforting gesture. She was stiff as a statue, completely tense.

Rosalie fought to keep her voice from trembling. "Yes, well, a true testament to the fact that I don't want everyone to know everything that has ever happened in my life. Maybe people should just butt the hell out everyone once in a while."

Alice looked slightly hurt, but nodded and backed slowly out of the room. Rose felt guilty for taking the shot at her, but just couldn't bring herself to follow after her and apologize. She'd had enough today.

* * *

Three days later, Rosalie sat in front of her fireplace once again, reading the latest issue of Vogue. She wasn't really absorbing any of the information her eyes were combing over. She was just too distracted by the recent events that were plaguing her life. She sat back and sighed, reflecting on the situation and shaking her head bitterly at the fact that she had spent more time alone in her room in the past week than she had in the past two months. She just didn't want to be anywhere near anyone with extra senses right now.

She stared into the fire for a moment and bit her lower lip. She still didn't know how to handle what was going on. Even after that night in her car with Edward, she still felt like things were unresolved for some reason, but couldn't put her finger on why.

She shook her head, and before she could think about what she was doing, she was on her feet and quietly opening the door to her bedroom. Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle and gone hunting and Alice and Esme had gone on a shopping trip for the weekend. Rather uncharacteristically, she had turned down their invitation to join them. She just wasn't in the mood.

She padded quietly down the hall toward Edward's room, still wondering what the hell she was doing. She was translating the issue of Vogue she had just been reading in French just for old time's sake; no use in taking chances anymore with his prying. When she reached his door, she carefully placed a hand on the polished wood and closed her eyes, considering if she really wanted to do this.

After a moment, she took a deep breath and opened the door.


	4. Prove It Means Nothing

**January**

Chapter 4

Rosalie took a deep breath as she slowly pushed the polished mahogany door open. Edward was stretched out on his black leather couch--the same couch that was an accomplice in their bad behavior decades before. It could be considered vintage now, but Edward cared for his things well enough that it didn't look like it aged any more than he looked like he had aged since those years of torrid passion.

Edward lifted his head when she walked through the door and regarded her with a look of utter confusion. After their interesting encounter in her car a few days before, they had very intentionally avoided each other. Part of it was guilt, and another large part of it was uncertainty. Neither of them were really sure where they stood now. It had set their relationship off balance after all these years of bickering and barely even being friends. Full disclosure has a way of doing that to people.

She took a few steps into the room and shut the door behind her, unnecessarily. The gesture was just enough that he was on his feet in a flash and standing in front of her in a heartbeat.

"Why are you here, Rosalie?" His voice was a little too gruff, adding an uncharacteristic edge to his usual velvet lilt.

Rose's spoke after a moment, her voice wavering, "I'm not sure, really."

His eyes burned into hers for a minute; seemingly burning into her soul. She could see the decision flicker across his face, and gasped before his mouth crashed down on hers.

She moaned involuntarily and pressed herself against him. He dragged her closer, grasping her under her bottom to pull her legs around his waist. She latched her legs around him as he carried her across the room to the couch she had just been analyzing a few moments before.

She latched down on his ear, nibbling lightly as he clutched at her back, her legs, her backside. He lowered to his knees and laid her down on the floor as gently as their passion as allow, but then went to work ravaging her neck. She craned her head to the side, giving him full access and ran her hands up his shirt to drag her nails down his back.

"Edward, please."

This was like another memory, but this time it was happening in the present. For the first time in a week, she wasn't dealing with flashbacks. Her mind wasn't plagued with film strips of past lives, but rather she was firmly grounded in the here and now and could think of nothing else besides Edward's lips working furiously across her skin.

When he ripped her shirt off, she growled; a sound of passion rather than anger. He trailed open mouth kisses down her jaw line and her neck, stopping at her collarbone to nibble along the edge of the defined feature. He buried his head in the curve of her neck briefly.

"Rose," he breathed.

As he went back to work on her abdomen, driving her crazy, she dragged his shirt over his head. She needed access to his skin; she wanted to feel the smooth planes of the muscles in his back as they bunched under the pressure of his movements. She ran her fingers up his shoulders and then fisted them in his copper hair briefly.

She gasped softly when he bit down on her hipbone, and he looked up at her with eyes almost black with passion. He growled again, shooting up to meet her face again, taking her mouth in his in another rough kiss that suited her perfectly. She wrapped her legs around his waist again, moving against him.

It was his turn to moan, and he ducked his head, trying to compose himself. It was no use, however, as they were both completely out of control. "Rose, I need to feel my skin against yours. Please."

She complied, undoing the button on her jeans and kicking them off as fast as she could. He did the same and then snapped her bra off. He took her in his arms and turned them around so she was on top and every inch of her body was pressed against him. He moaned again, matching the sound of approval that tore from her throat.

She met his lips again, her golden hair cascading over the right side of her face, creating a curtain. He reached up to tangle his fingers in it as her tongue teased his bottom lip and then found its way into his mouth, deepening the kiss. She rose up again and the full view of her perfect body took his breath away.

"Edward, I need you inside of me right now."

He growled again and reached up to grasp her waist. He was completely, almost painfully aroused, and she was ready for him as well. When he lifted her up to lower her onto his hardness, he slid in easily in one velvet motion making them both groan with pleasure.

She began to move against him, first slowly, torturously, and then faster when she couldn't control herself anymore. She was a sight to be seen. All passion and fury, her hair falling around her shoulders, her eyes burning into his, her skin a shade slightly darker than its usual pallor. She truly was the most beautiful creature on the planet.

It wasn't long before she cried out and clenched around him. He thrust deep into her, needing to feel every movement, every little piece of her pleasure. When the pulsing slowed, he flipped her around so that he was on top, thrusting fast and hard into her as she clutched his back. He called her name as he finished, burying his face in her hair.

He fell to her side, taking her in his arms and cradling her like she was the most delicate porcelain doll in the world. He kissed her once on each cheek and then on her forehead.

"Well, good evening to you too, darling."

* * *

She tangled her legs with his, her arms circled around his waist. They had made love two more times after that first and she was now struggling with an internal battle between contented pleasure and utter guilt. How did they end up here? She never thought she would end up being one of _those _women.

He _hmmed_ as he buried his nose in her hair again, his arms tightening around her.

How could this be so wrong and so right all at once? She felt like she needed to do this--she needed to know if this was going to feel the way it used to. Unfortunately, it did. Actually, it seemed they had even more passion for each other now than they did then. Perhaps it was the element of danger? They had both always felt a need for excitement and adventure. She smiled slightly, considering. Edward, Mr. I only prefer Mountain Lions.

She was slightly consoled by the fact that it was purely physical for her. She didn't feel anything beyond lust for him. She could remove herself from the situation a bit now and realize that Emmett owned her entire heart and soul, even if it seemed she couldn't control her body's impulses at the moment.

She also sincerely hoped that her little chat with Alice the other night was enough to keep her sister from prying into her decisions and future. This was one decision Rose definitely did not need Alice knowing about, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what the future held at this point. She grimaced slightly.

She pulled away to look at Edward, "Are you guilty at all?"

He frowned slightly, a crease forming in his forehead, "Yes. Extremely. I love Emmett very much as a brother. I rely on him more than he knows. But…"

She sighed, "I know."

They both fell silent for a moment and Rose closed her eyes. She felt Edward cup her cheek in his hand and opened them again to meet his sober gaze.

"It's going to be all right. We will work this out."

She sat up slowly, her long hair falling down her back in broad, loose curls. "Tell me honestly right now, Edward, that you don't want to do that again."

She felt his body tense beside her, "Is that a trick question?"

She turned to look at him over her shoulder, "No, just answer it. There is no wrong answer."

He sat up to press a kiss to her shoulder, "I can't tell you that, honestly."

She sighed and looked forward, training her eyes on a specific knot in the polished wood of his door. "I can't either, and I don't know why."

* * *

The next day when the rest of the family returned home, both Rosalie and Edward did their best to act as if nothing had happened. To their credit, they both did a fairly decent job, save the somewhat meaningful looks they shot each other at random intervals. Alice raised her eyebrow at Rosalie suspiciously at one point, but Rose returned a look of neutral confusion and dismissal.

She made up for her transgressions by spending extra quality time with Emmett. It wasn't as if they hadn't spent most of their time together before, but now she was practically attached to his hip. He was thrilled, but every time his boisterous laugh dominated her presence, her heart broke a little.

"So, Rose, we're planning another hunting trip in three weeks. A real hiking one! Not just our usual spot! Are you in?" he twirled her around, dipping her down in a fluid dance movement and kissing her.

She laughed, but her mind reeled. Would Edward be going, or would this just be another chance for them to break the rules? Did she want to break the rules again? Physically she did, but emotionally, no. She was astounded with herself that she could even consider saying no while she was wrapped so perfectly in Emmett's arms.

This was so ridiculous anyway. She knew that Emmett could give her the same kind of pleasure Edward could…but it was just…different. There was that history attached, that element of danger, that adventure. But, she reminded herself, also that terrible element of guilt.

She snapped out of her reverie and smiled up at her husband, "We'll see, darling."

He looked slightly crestfallen that she wasn't as fervently excited as him immediately, and she suddenly regretted not agreeing to the trip unconditionally.

She'd made a mess and she wasn't quite sure how to clean it up yet.

* * *

"Have you completely lost your mind?" She shrieked at Edward, kicking a tree in a fit of temper. "I don't think I have to tell you again you could have ruined _everything_ for us. Absolutely everything we have ever worked for, Edward! Everything Carlisle has ever worked for! You threw yourself in front of a damn van! How idiotic are you!"

She was furiously pacing back and forth on the forest bed. She had dragged Edward out here to berate him for deciding to save the stupid twit of a girl at school from an out of control van…in front of the entire student body of Forks High School.

He made up some sophomoric excuse about not wanting to spill her precious blood all over the parking lot that would turn him into a ravenous animal, but Rose knew better. She knew something else was there, and it was driving her absolutely mad. She was furious, once again, at herself that it had come full circle back to this intense jealousy for this stupid child.

"Rose, It didn't mean anything beyond not wanting the girl to be crushed horrifically."

She sneered cruelly, "Well aren't you such the little hero. Get the fuck over yourself, Edward."

He grabbed her arm when she started to march back toward the house, "Rose, don't do this."

She hissed at him menacingly, "Get your hand off of me, Edward. You don't have that privilege right now."

His eyes darkened as he dropped his hand and let her go.

She didn't look back as she ran back to the house.

* * *

After three days of barely saying one word to Edward, he pulled her aside in the garage one day with a look of frustration clear on his face.

"Rose, you don't have to avoid me just because of the things that happened last week. Don't you think your avoidance is just as suspicious as speaking to me would be?" he pleaded.

She lifted an eyebrow in bitter humor, knowing that it didn't look suspicious at all. She was sure it looked completely natural based on their usual behavior.

He sighed, "Okay fine, it doesn't look suspicious, but you've opened a can of worms now. I miss you."

She looked down, torn once again between guilt and desire. "Edward, we can't do this! I'm in love with my husband. He is your brother. Doesn't that mean anything to you? Not to mention you're a complete idiot and I don't really have any desire to be around you right now after your stunt last week."

"Rose, of course it does! But don't you feel anything after that night?" She could feel the tension running through his body, feel it transferring to hers. He strategically ignored her comment about the van incident. She coiled up when he cupped his hand at the back of her neck.

"Edward…"

"Prove it means nothing, Rose," he said and crushed his lips down on hers again.

She pulled away angrily, breathing hard and looking like a glorious fallen angel with burning eyes and tousled hair, "I'm not saying it means nothing, Edward. How about we travel back to the original problem at hand for a moment, since you wish to push the subject, yeah?"

She shoved at him frowning, "How's your little girlfriend at school, huh? How would she feel about our little roll in the hay? That's where this all started, wasn't it?"

He looked as if she slapped him, "Don't bring her into this, she has nothing to do with it."

She shook her head, some what taken aback at how much she seemed to have struck a chord in him, "Oh, so she really does matter. That's interesting. Maybe you should wipe that deer in headlights look off of your face, darling, it's not very attractive. What are you using me for? Are you trying to prove something to yourself? Is this entire thing all about you and her?"

Suddenly she felt extremely bitter. She wanted to lash out at him for everything that had happened in the last month; all the flashbacks, the kisses, the affair, the guilt. She wanted to lay all of the blame on him and not look back.

"Of course it isn't, Rosalie, don't be absurd."

She practically hissed, "Oh I'm being absurd now, am I? How about you prove something to _me_ now? Find a way, at some point, to prove to me that she means nothing to you, and get back to me."

And with that, she stalked out of the garage.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has been commenting on LJ and reviewing on here and adding this story to their alerts and favorites. It is so wonderful and motivating! I was able to get this chapter out so quick because of your encouragement!**

**More reviews are always lovely, I heart you all!**


	5. An Author's Note

**Hello my loyal and wonderful fans!  
**  
I just wanted to check in and tell you that updates to both of my fics are on their way soon. I haven't been able to get any writing in due to massive amounts of homework/projects/work/family obligations. I ended up having to take an entire week off of school because there was a death in the family and I needed to go out of town to take care of my family. That definitely put a dent in my routine!

So, no worries! Quil and Claire and Edward and Rosalie will be back to regularly scheduled programming very soon!

You guys make my world go round!  
Much love,  
**Katie!**


	6. The Pot or the Kettle

**February**

Chapter 5

The weeks following their impromptu garage brawl were a mix of Edward trying to give Rosalie what she wanted, and Rosalie trying to pretend she didn't want anything in the first place. To his credit, Edward barely even spared a glance for the obnoxiously ordinary girl across the cafeteria, irresistible blood or not. That being said, sexual tension ran higher than it ever had between them as a result. Rosalie was back to where she began—not knowing what she wanted.

Edward certainly wasn't making it any easier for her. She wasn't sure if the cheeky bastard was sending her those long, burning looks made of pure sex across the family room to turn her on, or to compel her to murder him and put him out of his misery. He was hitting both marks. Thanks to him her days were currently filled with an uncomfortable mix of guilty arousal and flat out annoyance at his unfair tactics.

Having Emmett and Edward in one room at the same time was becoming unbearable for her. She could barely even look her beautiful Emmett in his eyes anymore, and she wondered how long it would be before he finally said something to her. He was so incredibly patient with her moods and phases—he was too good for her, but exactly what she needed. She was a monster.

As a way of avoiding Edward's long stares and the occasional brief brush of fingers that, to everyone else went unnoticed, but to her caused electricity to crack under her skin, she put all of her energy into giving Emmett everything he wanted. She went on extra hunting trips, spent more time with him in their room, and tried to be game to his playful moods, all the while being very careful not to let Edward's name come up in conversation. It wasn't enough to make her forget her internal struggle all together, but it was distracting enough.

One day when Emmett was out with Jasper, Edward approached Rose where she was sitting at the granite island in their generally useless kitchen. She had her corn silk hair piled on top of her head in a loose bun that would have looked messy on any normal person, but on her looked like a perfect arrangement of each hair on her head. She was perched on one of the tall stools, gazing at the screen of her razor thin, silver laptop, her legs crossed at the ankles. The image was something that showed up in the laptop company's wildest dreams, along with skyrocketing sales and mad success.

She, of course, heard him approach, but was conveniently ignoring the fact that he was in her presence, as she had been doing since their discussion in the garage. She trained her eyes intently upon the Vogue Management website she had been reading. With Edward in such close proximity, she had no hope of actually focusing on the words now, but she still didn't want to seem like he had any effect on her at all.

When he came up behind her and pressed his face into her neck, it took every bit of strength and willpower in her body not to shiver and melt against him. Instead, she rallied, and leaned away, regarding him with a cool gaze.

"Did you need something?" she said, the chill practically falling off of the words in icicles.

He, however, did not lean away. Instead, he turned the full force of his gaze on her. His body was too close to hers, his mouth too close to hers, and she could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Have I proven myself to you yet?" His eyes darted a glance at her lips and then flicked back up to her eyes, the intensity never wavering.

She was embarrassed to find that it took a moment to get her mind to function properly. After decades of living with Edward, she thought she was immune to his antics, but that was far from the case at the moment. "Five days of not talking to the girl is hardly proof that you don't have feelings for her, Edward."

He tilted his head and his mouth turned up in that cocky, crooked smile that, to Rose, was a mix of sexy and obnoxious. At the moment it was absolutely the latter.

"If I was so hung up on her, why would it be that I can't stop thinking about you?" He leaned forward to close the distance between their lips, but Rose pushed away from the counter and was on the other side of the island in a blur of movement.

"Don't play these games with me, Edward. We need to start being honest with ourselves here, because I'm getting a little sick of this childish back and forth we have been doing."

She began to pace, one hand on her forehead, one braced at her back in a stance of obvious stress. After a moment she turned to meet his gaze full on with a stare that matched the intensity of his, and then some.

"I'm just going to be blunt, here," she said with decided resolve in her tone. "Emmett is the love of my life. That isn't going to change. Ever."

She waited a beat, gauging his reaction. She noticed the slight flinch and the darkening of his eyes, but she forged ahead.

"This little affair of ours was never about discovering some long forgotten feelings of passionate love for me. I don't know what it was for you, but if it was something along those lines, I was tragically misinformed."

"Rose, I…" Edward began to take a step toward her but Rose held her hand up.

"No, just be quiet. There was some confusion on my part due to some kind of intense jealousy, and I'm not going to lie and say that all of that is gone. I think this little infatuation you have for this child is ridiculous and not a little dangerous." A smile turned up the corner of her lips, "Not to mention you can clearly do better."

At that he growled, "Rose, how many times do I have to tell you. I do not have feelings for the girl."

She laughed softly, "Oh, Edward. I've never met anyone that is so quick to lie to even themselves, let alone everyone around them."

She hadn't even blinked and he was in front of her, pushing her back against the counter. His hands were on either side of her, trapping her there, and his face was now so close to hers she could feel his breath against her lips.

"And I'm the only one lying to themselves? You don't want anything to do with this anymore, is that what you're saying, Rosalie? You can just go back to the way things were six weeks ago without a second thought?" His breath was heavy with anger, and the heat in his eyes was almost enough to break her resolve right then.

"You don't know what you want, Edward."

He laughed bitterly and pushed away from her, "Do you want to be the pot or the kettle?"

As he stormed out of the room, she slapped her hand down on the counter in frustration.

* * *

The next day, Rosalie arranged to go shopping in Seattle with Alice. It was just another attempt to restore her life to some semblance of normalcy, and she hoped that Alice would play along without prying.

After their day at school, and after successfully beating off most of the male population of Forks High School off of the candy red M3, they set out for Seattle at a cool 90mph. At first, Rose managed to keep the conversation general. They spoke of the latest fashions, of where Rose was considering taking Emmett on their next honeymoon, and the possibility of re-decorating their rooms. However, she was not pleased when Alice turned in her seat to face Rose with a serious expression on her face.

"You know, Rose, I've kept my promise," she said, her head tilted, surely waiting for some kind of explosion from her sister.

Rose just clenched her jaw and concentrated on the road, not even acknowledging Alice's declaration of loyalty. The last thing she wanted to do was have a heart to heart about what had been going on between her and Edward in the past weeks, especially considering Alice's initial reaction to the issue.

Alice sighed impatiently at Rosalie's silence, "Come on, can't you at least explain to me what is behind all of this? I promise not to judge…I was just caught off guard last time."

When Rosalie glanced over at her sister, she was gazing at her imploringly, surely hoping that the 'How could you not confide in this face?' trick was going to work. Sadly enough for Alice, that didn't work on Rosalie—she was too manipulative herself. On the other hand, though, she did have a sudden and overwhelming desire to share her agony with someone. She let out a low hiss and shot another dark glare at Alice.

"I just want to preface this with the statement that the face you just tried to pull on me did not actually work; I'm only sharing this with you because I'm desperate." She grimaced even as she was saying it. She couldn't believe she was actually going to open up about this.

Alice bounced a little in her seat and smiled, "Okay, point taken. Now what's going on?"

Rosalie continued to stare attentively at the road as if it would crumble away if she took her eyes away from it. After a moment, she took a deep breath and said, "I slept with Edward."

There was a very heavy beat of silence. Then Alice let out a huff of breath and said, "Oh my god, Rose."

She clenched her teeth again and tightened her hands on the wheel, "I'm not really proud of it, Alice, try not to rub it in okay?"

She felt a small hand close over hers on the steering wheel and then pry her fingers off of the leather covered metal. Alice held her hand in her smaller one, stroking it gently.

"We'll figure this out, okay? Why don't you just tell me how this all started."

Rose immediately relaxed. She hadn't realized how much she needed to talk to someone about this mess, or how much she missed talking to Alice. They had barely said more than 10 words to each other since their argument that night after the fateful car ride that started it all. She took another deep, unnecessary, breath.

"Well, you, Jasper, and Emmett don't know this, but Edward and I had a kind of relationship before you all joined our family so many years ago. We weren't in love or anything, but it was meaningful enough. It was enough to blur the lines a bit until I found Emmett."

Rose snuck a look at Alice to gauge her reaction, but found her just listening intently.

"Carlisle originally brought me into the family because he hoped that I would be to Edward what Esme is to him. What ended up transpiring between us, I'm sure, was not what Carlisle had in mind." At that she laughed; a sound part mirth and part irony.

"We had quite the torrid affair, and made reasonable companions for each other the rest of the time as well. However, honestly, we fought more than was really necessary; he hated my vanity and I hated his 'holier than thou' attitude. When I found Emmett, though, it was like every moment of pleasure, pain, annoyance, bliss—anything—that I had found with Edward was completely erased from my mind. Emmett immediately became everything to me."

Her voice wavered now, and she had to stop a moment to compose herself. What had she ruined? And could it be fixed?

"I honestly have no idea how it made Edward feel. Both of us knew that our relationship didn't have that extra spark that Carlisle had wanted it to. I wasn't _in love_ with him any more than he was with me...but if anything, I can imagine there was a jealousy that this man out of nowhere came and broke apart our pleasant arrangement. But didn't I deserve more? Wouldn't he deserve more if he found someone?" She shook her head, frowning, "In any case, he made himself scarce for the transformation and for a good amount of time after. He could barely look me in the eye."

She sighed, turning to smile at Alice, breaking out of her reverie. "We never actually spoke about what we had again until this happened. He became Emmett's friend easily and they've been close ever since, which makes this even harder."

After a moment, Rose looked back out the windshield, willing herself not to fall apart. Alice, however, could sense her struggle, and said, "Rose, it's going to be okay, you know. I had no idea all of this went on, but I can see now why something like Bella coming along could stir things up again. I'm not saying that it's right for you to have an affair, but I understand where you're coming from. You've never found closure."

Rosalie nodded silently, still not meeting Alice's eyes.

"Rose, this is going to be hard for you to hear, but it needs to be said. You need to just let what happens between them happen. He isn't yours anymore, and you wouldn't want him to be. You have Emmett and you have to let him find what might make him as happy as you are." Alice shook her head at Rose's short, bitter laugh, "Okay, then, as happy as you usually are."

Rose's tone was hard with anger again, now. "Alice, this is the most ignorant and dangerous place to find happiness though. She is a _human_. He could ruin everything Carlisle has ever worked for, and break our entire family."

When Alice spoke again, she spoke resolutely, "Rose, you're just going to have to deal, because the girl is going to become one of us someday whether you like it or not. Maybe not today, but eventually. I've seen it."

Rosalie's head snapped up to look at Alice, "What did you say?"

"She and Edward will be together, and she will become a vampire. You better learn to live with it now," Alice said with the apparent air of being tired of Rosalie's intolerance.

Rosalie's clamped her fingers around the steering wheel as she began to feel ill. She suddenly had no desire to shop anymore.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry this took so long to update! You may or may not have seen my author's note last night that I posted, but I had a death in the family as well as mountains of school work that seriously prevented me from being able to write at all. Thank you so much for hanging in there with me though, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you review you'll be my best friend forever and ever! Much love, Katie!**


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